In tech: Facebook’s live video

Facebook is launching its own live streaming service – with a catch: It’s only for famous people.

The streaming tool, called Live, is part of Facebook’s Mentions app, which lets celebrities, athletes, politicians and other public figures interact with fans. Facebook says Live lets public figures host question and answer sessions, make announcements or take their fans behind the scenes, all in real time.

Live comes amid the popularity of two live-streaming apps available to anyone, Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope. Facebook says it has been planning its service since last year, before Meerkat and Periscope launched.

The Live videos will be automatically published to the celebrity’s Facebook page so they can be viewed on demand. The page’s administrators can remove it, just like any other post. Although it’s possible to save streams on Periscope and Meerkat to your phone, this isn’t done automatically.